Immigration enforcement under the Trump administration is tightening labor supply in some of the lowest-paid jobs in the U.S. restaurant industry, with operators warning that critical roles such as dishwashing are becoming harder to fill even as demand remains high, as a new Wall Street Journal report has revealed.
At a First Watch restaurant outside Chicago, dishwashers like Beto "Rodrigo" Mejía Fermine and Luciano Vera cycle through stacks of plates, utensils and trays during peak hours, performing work that managers say is essential to daily operations.
